It Comes To This
by Chikyuuhime
Summary: Usagi is having a bad day. When Mamoru enters the arcade, will he make things worse? Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone!

My other story, 'The Terran Senshi' is on a permanent hiatus as i am not sure whether to continue with it or not. Anyways, this story is Usa/Mamo based and I hope u like it! And, Mamoru is not studying to be a doctor in this story- he is working in a financial business.

I'd also like to thank my editor, Kiweee, for helping me with this story- u rock!

Now for the legal stuff:

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, Sailor Moon does not belong to me...Naoko Takeuchi has all the rights to it.

**

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**It was a freezing winter's day. Usagi, your average Japanese girl living in Tokyo, came trooping into the Crown Arcade. Her school case was dangling from her hand and she looked terrible. She was covered in road grime- courtesy of a truck driving past her at an inhumane speed for icy roads; her hair was drenched from the icy rain falling everywhere and her knees were scraped from when she had fallen down whilst she chased the truck which had sloshed her with grime from the road. Motoki, the Arcade's proprietor looked up at the girl he thought of as a little sister from the bench he was dutifully cleaning.

"Whoa…Usa, what happened?" he asked in shock.

Usagi looked at Motoki, pulled out one of the stools at the counter and sat down.

"First of all, I get a D minus on a test and then, after school, a truck drives past at a really dumb speed and sloshes me withroadgrimeand then I ran after the truck and fell over on a patch of ice and hurt my knees and then it starts to rain! I feel like a drowned rat and I feel terrible and I'm hurting and I hate school and it can't possibly get any worse!" She yelled.

Motoki looked concerned and said,

"Well, to help make your day better, I shall contribute a free milkshake and a triple chocolate fudge sundae!"

Usagi grinned, but her moment of bliss upon hearing that was short lived when the Arcade's bell above the front door rang…and Mamoru, the arcade's resident stuffed shirt, walked in. It was exactly 3:30pm- the time he always entered the Arcade.

"It just got worse." Usagi muttered as she covered her face with her hands- dreading what he would criticize her about that particular day.

As Mamoru walked in, he looked around. He had had an absolutely awful day. First, some _idiot_ in his business' second office in Osaka had made a massive mistake in the shareholder's trade stakes that morning and had caused a great calamity across the Japanese Stock Exchange, then, his boss had had a heart attack in his office and Mamoru had been the only one in the office on lunch break and had taken him into the hospital for treatment and then, he had arrived back inside the office to a phone call from the police station to let him know that he had just been robbed! And, for the past three weeks, he had constantly hurt Usagi's feelings with his cutting comments about her failing grades. He winced at the thought of his last comment- which had resulted in her slapping him across the face with her school shoe and then running outside, crying.

He then continued to look around the arcade at the happy people laughing and talking- and felt like he wanted to yell at them for being happy until he spotted Motoki and one certain, dirt-and-rain covered, blonde-hairedgirl. His deep scowl broke into a wide grin at the sight of the mud, rain and sleet covering Usagi. He had wondered what must have gotten inside the arcade to make the floor so dirty and now he knew. He wandered over to the bar stools and took the stool beside Usagi and looked at her. She looked so sad and annoyed so, to break the tense silence, he decided to tease her to get her mad. She was so cute when she was mad!

"Odango Atama! What's wrong? Fail another test today?" he asked.

Usagi just stared at him with anger filling her heartuntil she decided to reply,

"Ooohhhhh...YOOOUUUU! STUPID BAKA! WHY MUST YOU CALL ME THAT AWFUL NAME?" she yelled, crumpling up her failed test and tossing it at his glossy hair, making all of the other customers in the arcade turn around and stare at the two sparring partners.

Usagi looked back at them with a glare and they all turned back to their own business.

"Is this what you do every day? Come up with new ways by which to taunt me?" she asked as she sat down andproceeded to sip the free milkshake and eat the free sundae- both of which had just been set down in front of her.

Mamoru then placed his hand down on the cold, marble bench top and sighed. It always, ALWAYS, came down to this. He would call her a name, she would get mad, the whole thing would happen again and then it would end with something hard being thrown at his head. He wanted to tell her how he _really_felt about her, but he couldn't.

_"I probably never will."_He thought.

He stood up and began to leave, even though he had not had his ritualistic afternoon caffeine hit of very, _very_ strong black coffee. He was just about to walk out the door when he turned around and, without knowing what exactly came over him at the time,said,

"Odango? When you get home tonight, remember to study. I hate having to sit next to a failure like you every afternoon and bicker with you like this. It's getting on my nerves! All you ever do is read manga and eat!I just wish that, for one day, our lives wouldn't come down to this. You are lazy and a slob and you need to learn to grow up. I'm tired of being hit, slapped or having something thrown at me. When you leave here this afternoon, don't come back until you have grown up."

And, with that, he turned and walked out the door.

Usagi watched as he left and stared after him in shock. Motoki also looked stunned. Usagi was oblivious to the tears which now rolled freely down her cheeks. Mamoru always insulted her but he had never gone that far before. She stood up, picked up her school case, forgot about her sundae and milkshake and ran out the door.

Motoki watched as she left and then his thoughts returned to a certain, black-haired young man. He had never known Mamoru to be so cruel to anyone- especially Usagi.

_"I'm going to have a littletalk with him tomorrow..."_ he thought as he returned to cleaning his beloved arcade.

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AN: What do u think? Please review! And please, if u have any ideas for future chapters, submit them in ur reviews!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone!

Sorry this chapter has been a long time in coming...i have a lot of school work as i'm in my last year at school...

Well, i hope u guys like this and i forgot to mention last chapter that this is a first season story with the Shitennou and Queen Beryl.

Hope this chapter is good! And now for more legalities...

**Disclaimer:** No...I don't own Sailor Moon...Naoko Takeuchi does...

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THAT NIGHT AT THE TSUKINO HOUSEHOLD

As Usagi reached her front door, she fumbled around for her house keys in her bag, managed to find them buried under about ten pounds of candy wrappers and let herself inside the house- tears flowing down her delicate face.

Inside, the smell of a wonderful dinner hit her right in the face, but Usagi took no notice. Mamoru had hurt her too badly for her to be excited about food.

"Mama, I'm home!" Usagi called tearfully to let her mother know that she had finally come home.

"Usagi?" Ikuko called out when she heard her daughter's stricken tone, "Daijoubu ka?" (Are you alright?)

"Hai, I am. Call me for dinner please!" Usagi yelled before fleeing up the stairs for a long cry inside her bedroom.

Ikuko watched her beautiful, blonde-haired daughter flee up the stairs and slam her bedroom door shut. After the resounding noise of the slam had died down, Ikuko turned around and clenched a fist.

"If only Kenji was home. Then I'd get him to go after whoever has hurt my precious Usagi," She said to the empty house.

OVER AT MAMORU'S OFFICE BUILDING…

Mamoru let himself into his office again. He was staying in it for the night because, since he had been robbed, the police had cordoned off his apartment so as to get evidence from the crime scene and had told Mamoru that he was not to enter for at least 24 hours. The room reminded him of work, and was a bit small, but at least it had a comfortable couch.

He tossed his awful jacket onto his desk and placed both hands directly in the middle. He bent his head over the desk and stared at it as if it would give him the answers to all his questions.

_"Why did I say that awful thing to Usagi?"_ He thought, his heart burning at the mere thought of the look on her face when he had said those hurtful words.

He stood up straight, went out to the kitchen and grabbed a mug. He heaped about 3 teaspoons of coffee into it, boiled a kettle and walked back to his office. He plopped into his comfortable chair and stared out at the darkening Tokyo skyline.

_"I feel awful!"_ he thought, _"If only I had said how I truly feel, then maybe I wouldn't be staring out this window feeling this way."_

He was stunned from his thoughts by the squealing noises made by the kettle and went back to the kitchen to finish making his coffee.

BACK AT THE TSUKINO HOUSEHOLD

Usagi lay face down on her comfortable bed in silence. She was crying softly now instead of sobbing. His words had hit her hard. She had set her alarm for 6am in the morning and she was going to abide by that time.

"I'll show him. I'll show him that Tsukino Usagi is NOT a failure!" she yelled suddenly.

She jumped off her bed in a sudden burst of energy, grabbed her textbooks and- for the first time in a long time- she began studying.

LATER THAT NIGHT- STILL AT THE TSUKINO HOUSEHOLD…

Usagi sat at her newly discovered desk (which had previously been hidden under piles of clothes), studying as if her life depended on it. When her mother had called her and her younger brother, Shingo, down to dinner, Usagi had requested that she eat her dinner in her room. But when Ikuko entered the room with a plate of hokkien noodles and steamed fish, she had nearly had a heart attack when she saw her daughter, at her desk, _studying_!

"Wow…Usagi…studying…" she had muttered whilst scratching her head and wondering if she was dreaming.

Luna had also wandered into her room and seen Usagi studying- except that she had thought that her charge was reading manga.

"Usagi! Put that manga down or I'll…" she had begun, only to be silenced from her shock when she saw Usagi studying hard.

"Usagi, you're…studying?" Luna had asked- only to be swatted off the desk by Usagi's hand.

Now, Usagi's eyelids were getting heavy and she wanted to sleep. But, if she wanted to be able to walk proudly into the arcade whenever she wanted, she had to study.

AT 2AM, _STILL_ AT THE TSUKINO HOUSEHOLD…

Usagi lay asleep on her desk. She was giggling in her sleep at thoughts of Tuxedo Kamen coming in to defend her from Mamoru-baka's taunting words.

"Oh, Tuxedo Kamen, you're my hero…" she gushed in her sleep, giggling quietly afterwards.

Soon though, she was awakened by her communicator going off very loudly. She pulled the covers over her head, thinking that it was her alarm clock until she felt Luna jump onto her head.

"Usagi!" Luna screeched, "There's a youma attack at the park!"

With that, Usagi bolted upright and grabbed her pink communicator.

"Hey Mercury." she said tiredly, "What kind of youma, where and who?"

"Okay, it is at the Minamiza Park, with Zoisite and it is a really ugly youma." Mercury replied.

"Okay then, I'll be right there…" Usagi mumbled, getting up off her chair and stretching. '_Boy, studying does take a lot out of you!'_ She thought to herself as she prepared to transform.

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AN: Hope that chapter was okay! please review! 


	3. Chapter 3

Hey!

Thanks for the lovely reviews everyone! I'm glad you're all liking the story so far! Well, this is a new chapter and hope u like this one too...I'll also tell you all that Zoisite is a girl in this story (just in case you wanted to know before hand...)

And thank you so much to Kiweee, my lovely editor!

**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned Sailor Moon...but I don't.

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(Continuing on from chapter 2...)

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" Usagi called to the night- completely forgetting the fact that she was at home and that it was 2am.

Pink ribbons surrounded her, transforming her into the great superhero known as Sailor Moon. She looked down at her uniform and shivered. She hated the winter air whenever she was in senshi attire.

Sailor Moon ran towards her bedroom door and opened it. She was about to exit her bedroom when she remembered that her mother was down in the living room, sleeping on the couch- ready to welcome her husband home for the next morning. And the living room just so happened to be a room that she had to walk through to exit her home! Moon gasped.

_"How am I going to get out of here without giving away my secret identity? And why did I transform in my own home?" _She thought to herself as she hurriedly looked around.

She was getting really worried until she realised that, nearby, thrown over her open wardrobe door, was a brown trench coat that she had bought herself for a costume party about four months beforehand. She squealed in delight and hurriedly slapped her hand over her mouth.

"Usagi, darling? Is everything alright?" Ikuko called up the staircase.

"Err…oh! Tuxedo Kamen, you're sogood-looking..." Moon pretended to call out in a sleepy voice.

Back downstairs, Ikuko rolled her eyes and walked back to the couch. She lay down and turned on the television, turning the volume right down so as not to disturb either Shingo or the 'supposedly dreaming' Usagi.

Meanwhile, back upstairs, Moon threw the coat on and started to quietly walk down the stairs. She heard the TV making sounds and stopped. She then quickly descended the stairs and walked quietly to the entrance of the living room. Moon poked her head around the door and observed her mother. Ikuko was now sleeping like a log.

_"Hopefully a dead log…"_ Moon thought, quietly entering the living room.

She got down on all fours and quietly crawled across the soft carpet and successfully made it through without waking her mother. She crawled to the front door, grabbed her set of keys off the hook and quietly opened the door. She crawled out, quietly shut the door, threw the trench coat into the bushes and ran off into the night- not realising that Shingo had heard her transform and had just watched her whole escape and run off into the night as his favourite superhero- Sailor Moon.

AT MINAMIZA PARK

The four planetary senshi- Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter- all stood at least five metres apart from each other. A huge, ugly, tree-related youma towered above their heads with the evil Terran General, Zoisite, on the ground beside it.

"TREEAN!" Zoisite yelled, "GET THEM! GET THOSE BLASTED SENSHI!"

The youma attacked them with all kinds of tree-associated weapons. First came a 'Vine Whip', then a 'Leaf Storm' and, finally, a 'Bark Shatter'. The senshi were all thrown several metres backwards and were all plastered to different trees. The roots came out of the ground and snaked up their legs and up to their arms, securing them to the trees.

"Ha ha! Now I have you! The Rainbow Crystals shall be mine!" Zoisite yelled.

"Not so fast!" came a voice

"Huh? Wha…"

"I am Sailor Moon, Champion of Justice! I will right wrongs and triumph over evil! And that means you, you freak show!"

Zoisite smirked.

"What-EVER!" she yelled, "Now hand those crystals over, Sailor Moon-brat!"

Sailor Moon glared at her.

"Never, Zoisite! I've had a bad day and I will NOT give up these crystals to a freak like you!"

Zoisite growled low in her throat. It always came down to this- getting one of her freak show youma to try and kill the Sailor Brat.

"TREEAN! GET SAILOR MOON!" she yelled

The large, tree-like youma turned from trapping the other senshi and focussed on Sailor Moon. It took aim and hurtled one of its 'Vine Whips' at her. Sailor Moon screamed and, just before she was turned to moon dust herself for the first time, she was lifted off the ground to safety in the arms of…Tuxedo Mask. (sigh)

"Tuxedo Mask, y-you saved me again." Sailor Moon said in wonder.

"Of course I did. I will protect you for as long as I live, Sailor Moon." He replied, "But for now, you must defeat that youma."

"Right!" Sailor Moon agreed.

Tuxedo Mask lowered them to the ground from the safety of a tree nearby and stepped back. Sailor Moon plucked her tiara from her head and raised it in the air. She got into throwing position and yelled,

"MOON TIARA ACTIVATION!"

The youma stood stock-still and watched as his doom came hurtling towards him. As the tiara made impact, the youma let out a scream and was immediately dusted.

"Dusted." Sailor Moon whispered happily.

The other scouts fell off their respective trees, onto the ground in undignified heaps and got up slowly. Sailor Moon, however, went looking for Tuxedo Mask. She was still concerned about Mamoru and felt she needed a male's point of view on the situation. But, her caped saviour was nowhere to be found.

"Oh Tuxedo Mask…where are you? I need your help..." Sailor Moon whispered before detransforming.

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AN: Sorry about the name of the youma...and the attacks that the youma had...they were the best that I could come up with... please review and tell me what you think! and if you have ideas for future chapters, please let me know! 


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews everyone! They're what keeps this story going!

Anyways, about last chapter...

Usagi did not climb out her window because I wanted to make her escape harder for her and besides, nearly every story I have read which includes an escape scene from the house has had Usagi climbing out her bedroom window. So, I thought I would be different for a change!

Okay, now that my little rant is over, onto the story!

**Disclaimer:** What? I don't own Sailor Moon? Damn...

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A CONTINUATION OF CHAPTER 3…

About 1 hour later after the fight, Usagi came sneaking up her front steps outside her house. She pulled her forgotten trench coat from the bushes beside the steps, fished her keys out and quietly unlocked the door.

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CHAPTER 4- THE NEXT DAY

At about 6:30am that next morning, Usagi was stirred from her sleep by her very annoying alarm clock.

"Damare…" (Shut up) she mumbled.

She was just about to pull her pillow back over her head when she remembered that she could only show her face at the arcade once she had decided to grow up.

_'Fine…I'll get up now…'_ she thought as she sat up slowly and swung her legs over the side of her bed.

Ten minutes later, Ikuko came walking up the stairs to awaken her daughter, thinking that she was still sleeping, and nearly had a heart attack when she saw her daughter walk into the bathroom with her vanilla-scented shampoo and conditioner and her bunny-print towel!

_'Usagi? Up before eight in the morning? Hmmm…someone must have spiked my coffee…'_ she thought as she scratched her head and did an about-face to walk back down the stairs.

About an hour later, Usagi came quietly down the stairs in her school uniform and began to help herself to her mother's famous blueberry pancakes. She was busy tucking into them when she felt like she was being stared at. She turned her head to the left and to the right and, sure enough, on one side of her was her mother Ikuko and on the other side was her brother Shingo.

"Usagi? Are you really up early or am I dreaming?" Ikuko asked dazedly- still shocked that her daughter was up before 8am.

"Wow, baka Usagi was up before me for once…" Shingo remarked in surprise.

Usagi just blinked at them and got back to eating her rather large helping of pancakes. She finished in less than ten minutes, got up from her chair, kissed her mother on the cheek, hugged Shingo- to which he remarked "Ew!"- grabbed her lunch pack, homework and school bag and ran out the door.

"Okay, who was that and what have they done with my daughter?" Ikuko commented to no one in particular.

Shingo just shook his head in reply.

ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL…

At exactly 8:15am, Usagi rounded the corner just before her school. It seemed weird to arrive at school that early, and something had not seemed quite right about the whole marathon run to school. She couldn't quite place what had seemed so weird about it until she turned around and saw Mamoru walking down the street behind her. Usagi grinned evilly at his retreating form.

She watched with no surprise as he stopped abruptly in his tracks for a moment, looked up from the newest novel he was reading and looked around.She smirked when she watched him look around with a confused look on his face. She just stood in the school grounds for a moment and watched Mamoru until he looked up and saw her, standing in the front yard of Juuban Junior High- watching him. His jaw dropped.

_Usagi was at school fifteen minutes early?_

Mamoru gawked at her for what appeared to be a very long time- but in reality was only about two minutes. Usagi's smirk changed into a wide grin that took up her whole face.

"Morning baka!" she chirped cheerfully

"M-m-morning Odango…" he replied dazedly.

Usagi smirked again. She could get used to this side of Mamoru! Confused, surprised and shocked…it made her feel much better when he was the one who could not come back with witty retorts. She watched him gawk at her until she heard the school bell ring.

"Well baka, if I want to show my face at the arcade, I had better go inside and ace those tests!" she yelled.

Mamoru's eyes widened. He had not forgotten that- he had just thought that she had not taken him seriously.

"O-okay…" he said as he watched her walk confidently into the school.

AT THE ARCADE- AN HOUR LATER…

Mamoru walked into the arcade- with a very strange look on his face. Motoki looked up from the counter he was cleaning when he heard the bell above the door ring and his eyes narrowed when he saw his best friend enter the arcade. Well, soon-to-be _former_ best friend if he didn't apologise to Usagi when he next saw her… Motoki watched as Mamoru approached the counter and waited until the black-haired man had sat down to bite into him for the cruel remark he had made the day before.

"Chiba Mamoru! What the heck was that comment you made all about yesterday? You hurt Usagi really badly! You are such a baka! I cannot believe…"

Mamoru put up a hand to silence Motoki. Motoki stopped his rant and also stopped pounding the bench to support his comments. He looked Mamoru in the eye and noticed a strange glint in them.

"Mamoru? Are you okay?" Motoki asked

Mamoru continued to stare at Motoki until he began to tell the tale of the strange thing he had seen that day.

"Usagi was at school at eight fifteen this morning. She also said that she was going to pass the tests. I think she took me seriously Motoki." He said with wonder in his voice.

"Yeah, so? She's probably doing it so she can show her face around here ever since you did not permit her to come in here, which, may I remind you, is _my_ job. _I_ tell which customers to leave and which customers to stay. The rules in this place do not state that the best friend of the proprietor tells customers what to do and what not to do." Came Motoki's slightly spiteful reply.

Mamoru didn't hear that comment. He just stared into space…until he felt a burning sensation in his pants…

"MOTOKI! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Mamoru yelled as he tried to hurriedly wipe off the burning coffee the Motoki had dumped on him to make him listen.

"You went into fairy land and I wanted you to listen to what I had to say for once!" Motoki said simply.

Mamoru finally got the primary burning off his pants and went to the bathroom to wash the coffee stains off.

BACK AT JUUBAN JUNIOR HIGH

Usagi entered Sakuranda Haruna's maths class with her completed homework sheets in hand and a worried look on her face. She felt worried that Miss Haruna would not like her work and tell her to go to detention for not getting the answers all right. She shakily placed the sheet onto the growing homework pile and went to sit at her desk. She didn't see Miss Haruna's shocked face as she picked up her homework and looked it over with wonder in her eyes.

"Tsukino Usagi? Please come up the front."

Usagi slid out of her chair under the watchful eyes of her classmates and walked slowly up the front.

"Yes, Haruna-sensei?" Usagi asked timidly

"You did your homework?"

"Hai, I did."

"Miracles can happen…" Miss Haruna remarked in a near whisper.

Usagi watched her teacher look the homework sheet over, over and over again until she took out her marking sheet for that particular homework and began to mark it right then and there. It was finished in five minutes and Miss Haruna looked up at Usagi and said,

"Seventy-five percent, Miss Tsukino. Well done!"

There were shocked gasps from around the class as Usagi's eyes went wide. Seventy-five percent? She had passed! Mamoru was going to go bonkers when he heard this!

_'Oohh…Mamoru-baka is going to freak when he hears this! Not to mention what my friends and family will say!"_ Usagi thought as a grin emerged on her face.

_'But is it good enough to go into the arcade with?'_ she thought as the grin disappeared.

_

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_AN: Usagi has passed a test, but is it good enough for her to pass Mamoru's standards? Hmmm... please review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Hey!

Glad you all liked the last chapter! And thankyou all for your lovely reviews!

Now, I personally didn't really think that this chapter was up to scratch but I hope you like it anyway...there _will_ be more Mamo/Usa reactions in the future (just as a warning) so I will work on those!

Anyways, onto more legalities...

**Disclaimer:** Neither Sailor Moon or InuYasha (slight mention at the end of the chapter) belong to me.

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THAT AFTERNOON…

Mamoru entered the arcade. He had finished work for the day and it was exactly 3:30pm. He had had a better day compared to the day before and he could not wait to see his Odango! He waltzed inside and yelled to the arcade,

"Afternoon, Odan…"

He stopped. Usagi was nowhere to be seen.

_'Hmm…maybe she has detention…again…'_ he thought to himself as he shrugged and walked up to the counter.

"Hey Motoki-kun! How's the cleaning going?" he asked

The arcade proprietor turned around. When Mamoru had left the arcade the morning, he had been rather angry as there had been a rather large coffee stain in his best pants. Motoki could still see the stain in the pants but he could not see the anger in the owner of the pants.

"Err…fine, I guess." Motoki replied, staring at his rather insanely happy best friend.

"Where's Odango?" Mamoru asked expectantly, as if Motoki knew the answers to all his questions.

"She's not coming today, Mamoru-kun."

Mamoru looked surprised.

"Why?"

"I found this note at the front doorfrom her when I went to buy more milk. It reads, and I quote,

_'Dear Motoki,_

_I will not be coming to the arcade this afternoon nor will I be coming for at least a week- maybe more. Please let Mamoru know if he asks where I am and tell him that I will come back once I have grown up according to his standards and also let him know that I got seventy-five percent in my homework practice test today._

_Thank you Motoki!_

_Love, Usagi.'_

"So, Mamoru, As you can see, Usagi will not coming to the arcade this afternoon because of your cruel comments."

Mamoru did a face vault. Usagi was not coming? His Odango was not coming to the arcade for her usual sundae…wait…

_'Did I just say 'MY Odango?'_ he thought, _'hmmm…'_

Motoki watched emotions flow across Mamoru's face and watched as he shrugged and then stood up.

"Wait!" Motoki called.

"Hm?" Mamoru questioned

"Aren't you going to ask for a very strong black coffee?" Motoki asked, "You always do!"

Mamoru pondered this thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"No Motoki, nothing without Odango seems right today so I won't ask for my usual coffee." He replied, turning away to leave rather half-heartedly.

Motoki looked worried. Was Mamoru actually _missing_ Usagi? And wait, did he just happen to make a slight mention that, without Usagi, his day was not right? Hmmm...

OVER AT THE TSUKINO HOUSEHOLD

Usagi opened her front door. It had been a heart-wrenching experience to leave a note at the arcade door saying that she wouldn't be entering the arcade for at least a week. Her hands itched to play the new Sailor V game which had just arrived two days ago and she knew that Shingo would not allow her to go anywhere near his gaming consoles. She also knew that if she didn't study, she may not be allowed to go into the arcade ever again! An image of what that might be like flashed through her mind…

_An aged Usagi crossed the busy Tokyo streets. Space-suit adorned people were everywhere. She could see the arcade come into view and her heart leapt. She felt like dancing- but she was too old for that now. She crossed over to the arcade, pressed her hands against the glass and looked in with wonder. But, her smile faded at the sight of all the business suit-adorned men inside. Business women also walked aroundinside the arcade. She was just about to walk inside to stop this nonsense when she felt a hand on her shoulder._

_"No Odango, you cannot come in here. You're too immature, remember?" Mamoru's sneering voice said out of nowhere._

_Usagi's head flooded with that sneering tone..._

_"Too immature…too immature…too imma…"_

"NOOOO!" Usagi screamed at the top of her lungs! "I will not be brought down by that baka! He is not the boss of me! I will do what I choose and I choose to study and ace those tests! I will show up at that arcade in a week's time and shove his heartless comments in his face! I'll show you baka!"

"Umm…Usagi? Are you okay?" Shingo asked from nowhere with a slightly surprised look on his face

"GYAAHHH!" Usagi squealed, frightened by the fact that her brother had snuck up on her like that.

Shingo just raised an eyebrow and bypassed his sister to go into his own room. Usagi watched him and then walked into her own room. She opened her school case, brought out her calculator and maths homework and, for the first time in her life, decided to study because she actually felt like it. She liked the feeling she had gotten when she had achieved 75 that morning. She had felt all happy and successful- not like a failure. Usagi grinned and quickly got to work on her maths homework- hoping to bring that 75 to at least an 80.

THAT NIGHT- AT THE TSUKINO HOUSEHOLD

Usagi sat up in bed, reading her manga. She had finished the whole night's worth of homework about an hour before (much to the shock of her mother and father) and had gone to collect a mug of hot chocolate and then had changed into her pyjamas. She was then granted the pleasure of reading manga without the burden of homework on her shoulders.

"Ha, ha, ha! InuYasha was told to sit again! Go Kagome!" Usagi laughed as she enjoyed her InuYasha manga.

Luna, who was sitting at Usagi's side on the bed, smiled at her charge and shut her eyes, ready to enjoy a night's rest- hopefully without youma disturbances.

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AN: I hope that that was okay...please review!


	6. Author's Note

Hey all those people who have read this story!

I am here and finally back online! I was not able to post stories for yonks because i moved house and there was no internet connection. We have only just gotten the internet working and I am in the process of writing a new chappie! I shall be back ASAP! Promise!

Chikyuuhime


	7. Chapter 6

Hey! Here is chapter 6! Sorry it has taken so long! I hope this chapter is all right...even though it is short. It is all leading up to that wonderous encounter between Usa and Mamo.

**Disclaimer:** Err...i have some DVD's! Oh fine...I don't own Sailor Moon...Naoko Takeuchi does.

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING

Usagi woke up refreshed and confident. For the first time in weeks, there had been no youma disturbances. She jumped out of bed and promptly sent Luna hurtling off the bed from beside her.

"MRROW!" Luna screeched.

"Sorry Luna…" Usagi replied- sounding completely NOT sorry.

Luna just glared at her charge and jumped back up on the unmade bed and fell asleep on the warm spot that Usagi had only just vacated. Usagi, meanwhile, walked to her wardrobe. She was on a roll! She had studied a lot the night before and felt confident that she could pass that day's algebra test. She didn't know why Haruna-sensei had scheduled two tests for two days in a row but right now, she could not care any less. She grabbed her uniform, yanked it on and bounded out of her room and down the stairs to grab a hearty breakfast. She was going to need her energy for the test!

Just before Usagi left the house that morning, her mother called,

"Usagi, ima nanji desu ka?" (what time is it?)

"Eight o clock, Okaa-san. Naze?" (eight o clock, mother. why?)

Ikuko just stared at her daughter and watched as Usagi shrugged and walked out the front door to head off to Juuban Junior High School.

AT SCHOOL THAT MORNING

Usagi entered the classroom just after 8:15am. She looked around at her friends who were all chattering amongst themselves. She spotted her friend Naru Osaka and pranced up to her and asked,

"Naru, do you want to go to the arcade this afternoon?"

Naru watched her friend closely. She then shook her head.

"Gomen nasai, Usagi but I cannot come. Okaa-san wants my help in the jewellery store this afternoon."

Usagi smiled and nodded. She knew that her fellow senshi would most likely be there but she still felt alone. To top it off, she didn't know whether she would even get to go to the arcade that night. Her 'pity-me' thoughts were stopped when Haruna-sensei entered the classroom.

"All right class! Please take your seats and get out your pencils ready for the test!"

Everyone quickly grabbed their stationery and sat ready and waiting at their desks. Haruna-sensei passed the test papers around and started timing. Usagi flipped the paper around and answered all of the easy questions. She then concentrated on the harder ones and found that, because of studying, they were easy.

She finished before about half the class and raised her hand. Haruna-sensei came over and asked her if anything was wrong. She was shocked when Usagi handed her the finished test and sat back and twiddled her thumbs.

At lunch that afternoon, Haruna-sensei came walking across the schoolyard towards Usagi's normal sitting spot. Naru saw her coming and immediately prepared Usagi for impact.

"Usa, Haruna-sensei is right behind you. Don't be afraid to cry on us when she tells you that you failed. We will always love you as you are our best friend and…"

"Tsukino Usagi!" Haruna-sensei yelled.

Usagi turned and saw the brunette teacher come walking towards her with a huge grin on her face.

"Hai, Haruna-sensei?"

"Tsukino Usagi, I am proud to announce that you have officially passed your test with…wait for it…ninety percent!"

Usagi's jaw dropped. Naru fell against the brick wall behind her. Haruna just jumped from foot to foot, yelling,

"I made Usagi into a star! I did it!"

Usagi meanwhile, grinned evilly.

_'I can't wait to see Mamoru-baka's face when he gets a load of this!'_ she thought as she contemplated ways of presenting it to him- mostly all resulting in him falling at her feet and confessing how sorry he was.

_'Ooh, I'm so excited!'

* * *

_

AN: Okay, sorry that that chapter was so short... next chapter should be fun to write! Usa/Mamo encounter! Yay! Please review! 


	8. Author's Note 2

Hi!

Everyone…I need some ideas for how the Mamo/Usa encounter should go! Should Mamo be mean again or should Usa triumph or something totally different? I want to make it as good as possible and to do so, I need ideas! Please send ideas to the reviews page from this chapter!

Chikyuuhime


	9. Chapter 7

Okay...the chapter you have all been waiting for!

I hope you all like it! It took so long to write! And thankyou for the great suggestions!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sailor Moon...nor do I own the Hallelujah Chorus (you'll see why I put that there in this chapter...)

* * *

That afternoon, Usagi walked into the Karaoke Crown Arcade with her two passed tests in hand. A triumphant smile graced her pretty face until she spotted her target…

Mamoru

_'He is going to be so shocked when he sees these! Especially my latest test!'_ she thought as she slowly walked over towards him- an evil grin now taking over from the smile.

Mamoru sipped his coffee slowly, the steam rising hotly from the mug. He felt a soft tap on his shoulder and his heart leapt.

_'Usagi?'_ he thought, swirling around to face whomever it was that now stood behind him.

Indeed, it was the beautiful Usagi who stood behind him. Mamoru opened his mouth to greet her and tell her how much he missed her, but the next words he said made him groan inside.

"Odango Atama? Are you sure that you should really be here? Don't you need to be studying maturity, grace and school work?"

Usagi's happy attitude promptly died and anger filled her heart. She swallowed thickly and managed to keep her rage to a minimum. She smiled once again and Mamoru's brain almost sang the 'Hallelujah Chorus' at the sight of it.

"I can go wherever I please, baka." She said carefully.

Mamoru raised an eyebrow at Usagi's cold expression and icy tone. She was smiling, yet she looked angry at the same time.

"Oh really?" he asked

"Really." She replied, "I passed two tests…with flying colours."

Mamoru's jaw dropped unceremoniously.

"You passed a test? No wait, make that two? Wow Odango…but I must see this phenomena in order to actually believe it happened."

Usagi smirked- a first for her- and handed her test papers to the raven-haired college student. She watched as Mamoru looked down at the big, red 75 on her first test and the big, red 90 on her other test.

After about 5 minutes of nervous silence- with the entire arcade watching the scene unfold- Mamoru looked up at the blonde with an emotionless expression.

"What do you think?" Usagi asked triumphantly- wanting to quash her efforts in his face and make him squirm.

Mamoru just looked back at the papers. He looked from the papers back to Usagi about ten times before he finally opened his mouth to speak. The next words that dripped out with such venom shocked himself, Motoki, the girl in question and the entire arcade.

"Did you cheat?"

Usagi's smile fell off her face. She stood stock still. Her mouth dropped open and her cerulean eyes shimmered with bright tears.

"What?" she asked breathlessly

"I said, did you cheat?" he asked again, feeling like he could shoot himself then and there.

The whole arcade started whispering to each other about the horrible question. Quotes such as, "What a bastard," "Baka!" "How mean!" and "How stupid!" floated throughout the crowd until Motoki silenced them all with a death glare.

Usagi, meanwhile, glared at Mamoru with a single tear falling down her flawless, porcelain cheek.

"I did not CHEAT!" she said, placing great emphasis on the last word. "I STUDIED for the damn test and you can't even comprehend that!"

"Wow, such big words, Odango brains! You even used the word 'studied' in the same sentence as 'I'! I'm stunned!"

Usagi clenched her fists and threw her school case on the floor in a violent manner.

"I don't CHEAT on TESTS! YOU even said that I could not come back here until I had actually passed a test! I got up at six for the past two mornings, which, may I remind you, is EARLY for me! AND I went to school early and studied there too! I studied every single night to impress you! Don't you care?"

Mamoru just eyed the girl with amusement and replied with a sigh,

"No I don't, actually. Now, if you will let me say something, I must say that I am impressed with the scores but you, who has no time whatsoever for studying because of your 'hectic' life and all, cannot achieve something as high as these scores here."

Something inside of Usagi snapped. She marched over and grabbed the lapels of his ugly jacket and he looked away lazily.

"Can't look me in the face, can you, Baka? Is that because you know that I tried and care not to admit when you are wrong? Just quit it with your stupid insults and admit that I did good!"

Mamoru shook his head and Usagi let him go. She snatched the papers from his hand and began to leave the arcade.

"You could always say 'please', Odango." He muttered.

Even though he had not meant for her to hear that comment, Usagi turned and stared at him for a time. She slowly walked back after about ten minutes of freakishly staring at him and grabbed some random person's milkshake on the way.

"HEY!" came the voice of the milkshake's previous owner.

"Get another!" Usagi yelled, her anger getting the better of her this time.

She walked back over to Mamoru and stood directly in front of him- a glare in her eyes. Mamoru just stared back at her questioningly before eyeing the milkshake and raising his eyebrows. Usagi, in one quick manoeuvre, held the milkshake out, turned it upside down and dumped all the contents on Mamoru before he could even tell her to stop or to rethink her decision.

"I hate you Mamoru. I really, REALLY hate you." Usagi said before spinning on her heel and stomping towards the doors of the arcade.

But she stopped for one second and said,

"And, by the way, you weren't even worth that milkshake! I should have grabbed a pot of scalding hot coffee and dumped it on you before I grabbed that milkshake!"

And with that, she stomped out the automatic doors and walked away.

Mamoru just watched her go through his now strawberry-scented fringe and turned to face his best friend, Motoki. The arcade's proprietor just stared at him in disgust.

"How could you, Mamoru? That was so cruel that I could feel myself wanting to curl up and die from the intensity of those words!"

"Motoki, I really didn't mean it…"

"You didn't? How can you say that? You hurt her! Get out of here right now and don't come back until you and Usagi are friends…err…I mean, on good terms again!"

Mamoru stared at his best friend. Motoki had never sounded so angry before. He nodded and stood up, milkshake dripping everywhere. His shoes squelched along the tiled floor as he walked to the door and walked outside.

Motoki watched Mamoru leave and shook his head.

"What a baka. Can't he just be nice to her for once?" he muttered to no one in particular.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PREVIEW OF CHAPTER 8

Meanwhile, Usagi had reached Minamiza Park with her school case at her feet and her head in her hands. Tears fell down her cheeks and spilled out of her hands onto the ground around her.

Mamoru, who now stood at the entrance to the park- with people giving him weird glances in all directions- watched Usagi with a great deal of regret and remorse over his cruel question. His shoes squelched along the paved footpath as he managed to get his feet to walk him closer, but he didn't care.

All he cared about at this moment was apologising to Usagi.

_'Oh Usako,'_ he thought as he watched her cry

_'What have I done?'

* * *

_

AN: Oh man...I am so nervous...I hope that that was okay...please review! 


	10. Chapter 8

Hey everyone!

i feel so bad for not updating earlier! i have had so much on in terms of school work...yr 12 sucks butt.

Thankyou to my lovely editor Kiweee for reading this and checking for mistakes and also to YamiNirina who reminded me to update this story in her really nice review. And thankyou to all of my readers for reviewing so far!

And now for the legal stuff:

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Sailor Moon

* * *

Mamoru walked dazedly out the door with the snow squelching around him as he passed through the iron and steel jungle known as downtown metropolitan Tokyo.

_'Oh crud'_ he thought as he wandered down the pathway.

He didn't know where he was going. His feet walked whilst his heart led to his favourite destination- the Minamiza Park Rose Gardens.

* * *

Meanwhile, Usagi sat on a bench in Minamiza Park with her school case at her feet and her head in her hands. Tears fell down her cheeks and spilled out onto the ground around her. Mamoru had cut her deep inside.

The man in question, who now stood at the entrance to the park with people giving him weird glances in all directions, watched Usagi with a great deal of regret and remorse over his cruel words. He squelched along the footpath as he managed to walk closer, but he didn't care. All he cared about was apologising to Usagi.

_'Oh Usako,' _he thought, _'What have I done?'_

Mamoru felt anger at himself well up inside until he burst out with,

"I'm such an idiot!"

A man standing nearby nodded sincerely, agreeing wholeheartedly with the comment until Mamoru turned abruptly and glared at him. The man shrunk away from the glare and walked off.

Mamoru watched the stranger leave and then continued in his long journey to bench Usagi now occupied- even though it was only about 4 metres away.

* * *

He reached the bench what seemed like hours later. Remains of pink milkshake stained his hair, snow and dirt streaked his once immaculate black shoes and his eyes were darkened with shame. His heart cried out to the sobbing Usagi- crying out all the words he could not bring himself to say such as,

_'I'm sorry I was such a bastard! Please forgive me! I cannot live without you anymore! Come back to the arcade!'_

He walked around the bench and stood in front of her, watching her cry- his heart breaking over the fact that he had caused this. Her pain was a result of his actions.

* * *

Below his tall frame, Usagi brought her knees to her chest. Her brain spun around inside her head with millions of questions. She had tried so hard and she could not understand why he would not accept that. She was crying so hard now that she didn't hear a set of feet suddenly come to a squishy halt in front of her. She sat and cried until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"M…Motoki?" she sniffled

Mamoru's face contorted with amusement. She thought that Motoki had followed her! He wanted to make a comment, but he also did not want to spoil the moment again.

"Err…no…it's me, Mamoru." He whispered to her.

Usagi's sobs immediately stopped. Her head jerked upwards and she stared at him- her cerulean eyes darkening dangerously.

"What are you doing here?" she asked rudely

Mamoru looked surprised at her tone.

"Well, number one, it's a free park and I can come here whenever I want and number two, I felt bad about what I said earlier. I was…"

Usagi stopped him in his tracks.

"Are you finally going to admit that you are wrong?" she asked

Mamoru sighed.

"Yes." He replied, "I was wrong, Usagi. I jumped to a conclusion too quickly and I am deeply sorry."

He hoped that his well-thought out apology would be enough, but Usagi continued to stare at him and then her evident anger became words in the blink of an eye.

"Sorry? SORRY? You get angry at me, tell me to leave the arcade because I'm a failure and don't belong there and, when I finally blow everyone's socks off with my results, YOU accuse ME of cheating! Do you think that the word 'sorry' is going to help? Did you really think that, as I sat here, crying my eyes out because of what YOU said, that 'sorry, Usagi' would make me feel better? Well, let me tell you something, Chiba Mamoru! It doesn't! It really doesn't! You and your stupid intellect! I…I…I hate you!"

Mamoru's jaw dropped. Now all their bickering had come to this…she was unwilling to forgive him for his dastardly behaviour. He then tried to salvage the situation.

"Usagi, I really am sorry! I was stupid and didn't mean it. I feel like such a baka for saying it! Please…Usagi…please forgive me?"

Usagi just continued to stare straight through him. The sparkle in her eyes was gone. Mamoru's hope died as soon as he saw those eyes and he watched her slowly stand up as he moved backwards to allow her to pass.

"I'll just have you know, Mamoru, that I may be stupid when it comes to school work, but I am not stupid when it comes to apologies. I know that you will take this back and will continue to call me 'Odango Atama'. I have made a decision not to forgive you UNTIL I have proof that you are sincere and stop calling me 'Odango Atama'.

Mamoru looked at her in outrage.

"What? Is your brain made from odangoes? Can't you see, over your self-righteous pride, that I have apologised? Usagi, you baka, you drive me nuts!" he yelled, suddenly pulling her into his arms and leaning down to kiss her.

Usagi felt her lips lock briefly with those of Mamoru's and jumped back. She pulled her arm back and slapped him across the face- shaking him out of his shocked reverie.

"WHAT THE?" she yelled, "BAKA! YOU JUST STOLE MY FIRST KISS!"

Mamoru just stood there, looking like a deer trapped in headlights. He was just as stunned at his brazen act. What the hell had possessed him to do that?

"Err…Usagi…I…"

"DON'T SAY IT!" she yelled, "Just leave me alone!"

And with that, she stomped away, leaving Mamoru standing stock still- and with no idea on how he could fix this new problem.

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Okay...did you like it? hate it? please tell me! luv Chikyuuhime


	11. Chapter 9

Hey all! I have finished mid-year exams! yay! So, in celebration, I wrote a short chapter, with only a slight hint of Mamoru bashing. (Heeheehee...)

Thankyou to **lovedlost** for her wonderful input and giving me the idea for this chappie! Thankyou to my editor, **Kiweee**, for going over this and being my friend! Thankyou to **Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom** as well for also supporting me! And thankyous to my **reviewers** and **readers**- OVER 10 000 HITS! YAY!

Just as a quickie note: These thankyous do NOT mean that this is the last chapter...I just want to thank all of you! And this story IS going somewhere...you all just have to wait and see WHERE it goes!

**Disclaimer: **If Sailor Moon belonged to me, then I would be Naoko Takeuchi...well, since I'm not Ms Takeuchi, then Sailor Moon is not mine!

* * *

Usagi continued to stomp all the way home. She stomped up to her front door, unlocked it with the spare key hidden under the doormat and stomped inside- slamming the door behind her. 

"Usagi? Everything okay, sweetie?" Ikuko called up the stairs

"HAI!" Usagi yelled back to her mother

Ikuko decided to leave the matter at that and continued to make dinner whilst Usagi flopped down on her bed upstairs and began to make 'revenge plans' to get Mamoru back for what he did.

Meanwhile, back at the Arcade, Mamoru re-entered the establishment with a look of pure despair crossing his normally stoic expression. Motoki noticed and was ultimately shocked to see Mamoru actually looking like he had a heart!

"Err…Mamoru? Everything okay, buddy?" he asked, handing the man a slice of chocolate-chip cheesecake (Mamoru's favourite dessert- don't tell!)

Mamoru pushed the cheesecake around with his fork for awhile until he snapped,

"No. I apparently 'stole' her first kiss!"

And with that, he shoved the fork deep into the slice of cheesecake and then shovelled the rather large forkful of the confection into his mouth.

'I think I'm going to gag…that was disgusting…' Motoki thought as he started gagging at the sight of Mamoru's pig-like display. He was also disgusted with what Mamoru had just said.

"Did you just say that you 'STOLE' her first kiss? Everyone who's anyone knows that the first kiss is sacred! Why did you do that? You know what? I oughta…"

"Shut up, Motoki! You're beginning to sound like that Minako girl! Anyways, I wasn't thinking when I kissed her- I just…just…I don't know…just…KISSED her, I suppose!"

Motoki jut looked on in disgust. Minako had taught him to save his first kiss for the person he would be with forever. He had eventually given it to his current girlfriend, Reika. Didn't Mamoru understand the importance of the first ever kiss?

Mamoru just shrugged with indifference at the look Motoki gave him and started playing with his cheesecake- only stopping momentarily to shove a few bites into his mouth.

Back at Usagi's house, Usagi was fast asleep with dreams of her pounding Mamoru's head into the ground and dusting him with her tiara occurring. She smiled as she slept until suddenly, she heard a ferocious yelling in her left ear that rather resembled the sound of metal scraping on metal…

"USAGI!" came the voice

Usagi screamed and jumped about ten feet into the air. She looked over at the owner of the voice- only to find Luna and not some car wreck.

"LUNA! WHAT NOW?" Usagi yelled back

Luna took a moment to compose herself and then replied, somewhat calmly,

"Do you not remember, that I told you SPECIFICALLY, that there was a SENSHI MEETING THIS AFTERNOON?" she said, yelling the last part rather loudly

Usagi clamped her hands over her ears and then said,

"Yeesh, Luna! You don't have to yell so loudly! What time was the meeting anyways? I'm sure that I have enough time to get ready and go there! I was only asleep for a minute!"

"Try TWO HOURS, Usagi! The meeting could well be over by now!"

"Okay, okay already! I'll go and tell them that I just had detention, that's all!"

Luna sweat dropped and Usagi just grinned and made a 'V' for victory sign before running out of her bedroom.

"BYE MOTHER!" she yelled as she ran out of the house to face the wrath of the other scouts- especially her best friend, Hino Rei.

* * *

Thankyou for reading this chapter! Please review and give me your ideas! I live for ideas! Until next time! from Chikyuuhime! 


	12. Chapter 10

I am so sorry everyone! bows I told some of you that it would be a few days and it turned into weeks and i do apologise. My teachers are piling on work at the moment because they want to get everything done before the end of year 12 and school year in October. And exams are in November. grr...anyways, I have posted TWO chapters for you to make up for it and I hope that it makes the wait worthwhile!

See you next chapter!

Chikyuuhime :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Sailor Moon- Naoko Takeuchi does.

* * *

Usagi made her way to the Hikawa Shrine very quickly and ran up the long staircase to the actual temple grounds. She nearly ran into Rei's grandfather along the way and narrowly dodged Yuuichiro as well.

"Dude…she's like…fast…" Yuuichiro exclaimed in awe.

Grandpa sweat dropped.

Meanwhile, Usagi ran into Rei's bedroom and seated herself on the floor and placed a cheesy grin on her face. She looked around but could not see Rei or the other girls anywhere.

With Usagi looking around like a lost puppy, Rei and the others stood in the cupboard- with Rei's eyes narrowing into tiny little slits of anger. Makoto was cross with Minako, who was currently stepping on her foot. Minako was trying to stand on tiptoe to see out of the slats in the cupboard door whilst unconsciously stepping on Makoto's foot and Ami was shaking her head with worry for Usagi.

Rei nudged Makoto and Makoto flung her head around to face her- while giving Ami a mouthful of her hair. Rei nodded and Makoto whispered,

"Huh? What did you want Rei?"

"Oh for the love of manga!" Rei whisper-yelled, "We're going to execute Operation KUFBSL which, to anyone who needs to know, is Operation Kill Usagi For Being So Late!"

Makoto assumed a blank look on her face which, fortunately, Rei could not see in the dark, but she processed the idea and nodded, which unfortunately, Rei could not see either.

"Oh for crying out loud Makoto! Are you with me or not?" Rei whispered

"YES!" Makoto whispered fuirously back to Rei

Rei sighed and slapped a hand to her forehead.

"Chimps! I am working with chimps!" she muttered.

She then silently opened the door and led Makoto out into the open. They eyed their oblivious target, who was munching on a chocolate bar she found on Rei's bed.

_'Ooh! My secret stash! I'll get her for that later!'_ Rei thought.

The two Senshi then edged towards Usagi and Rei muttered,

"Ready?"

Makoto nodded and both girls launched themselves onto their friend. Usagi squealed with shock and both girls let her go and sat down.

"Okay, okay! We're off you now!" Makoto yelled as Usagi jumped around, screaming.

Usagi stopped screaming and sat down rather abruptly.

"What was that for?"

Rei smirked and Makoto looked like she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"You were late, AGAIN, so we decided to deal with you for once!" Rei yelled

"Oh Rei, you're so mean!" Usagi said before starting to wail.

Rei sighed and leaned back against her bed whilst Makoto tried to comfort the crying girl. She eventually calmed her down with the promise of a double chocolate brownie ice cream sundae from the arcade but, with the memory of Mamoru's torture over her grades, she began to cry again.

"Usa? What's wrong girl?" Minako asked while venturing out of the cupboard.

"M…M…Mamoru i…is…also…m…mean!" Usagi cried

"You oddball! He's always mean to you!" Rei yelled

"But…th…this time h…he w…was really m…mean! H…he k…kicked me out of the ar…arcade!"

Everyone eyed her strangely.

"Are you serious?" Makoto asked

"Y…YES!" Usagi yelled, wailing quite loudly.

Ami, Minako and Makoto all gasped in shock. Rei just stared at her dumbly. Usagi continued to wail as the first three girls tried to calm her down again. Rei suddenly came back to life and quickly grabbed a chocolate bar from her stash. For all the mean things that Rei did, she was actually pretty decent to Usagi sometimes.

"Hey, Usa, do you want another chocolate?" She asked

Usagi nodded and accepted the candy refreshment gratefully before opening the wrapper and chowing down.

The girls talked and comforted Usagi for an entire hour until they went their separate ways- the meeting forgotten- and Rei went to call Mamoru.

Meanwhile, Mamoru had left the arcade after Motoki's futile efforts to get more chatting out of him. He was sitting at his kitchen table, feeling guilty and eating a sandwich when the phone rang. He slowly stood up and walked over to the annoying piece of technology and picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked cautiously

"CHIBA MAMORU! HOW COULD YOU?" came Rei's voice

"Err…hey Rei…you could start a conversation with a simple 'hello' you know."

"Well then, hello! How are you? I hope you're writhing with guilt and I hope you rot in hell!"

Mamoru pulled the receiver away from his ear and eyed it strangely before replying,

"If this has something to do with what happened to Usagi, then please hang up now because I don't want to talk about it."

Rei, however, was fuming.

"Oooh! We're going to talk alright! You're going to tell me exactly what the HECK got into your head when you two were fighting like dragons two days ago!"

Mamoru did not want to hear anymore, so he simply put the phone back on the hook- effectively hanging up on the still-yelling Rei. She stopped when she heard the dial tone and asked,

"Uhh…Mamoru? Are you there? I haven't finished with you yet! You can't hurt my best friend like that!"

And with that, she slammed the phone down and stomped off to sulk and read manga before consulting the sacred fire on how to deal with Mamoru.

Back in Mamoru's apartment though, Mamoru had forgotten his sandwich and walked out of his apartment, into the cold winter air. For the second time that day, he was going to the park. His favourite place.

The Rose Gardens.

* * *

Okay, next chapter will be a bit more intense, so I hope its okay! And please review if you read!


	13. Chapter 11

Not one but TWO chapters! hehehehe...do u like? I hope u do!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own either Sailor Moon or Revolutionary Girl Utena. They belong to their creators

Okay...on with the story!

* * *

Meanwhile, Usagi lay on her bed at home. She had snuck one of Rei's 'Revolutionary Girl Utena' mangas out of her bedroom and was silently reading it under her quilt with a torch so that she could be alone. She was still hurting from Mamoru's taunts, him stealing her first kiss and his inconsiderate and snide comments.

She then felt stifled. She needed to let her anger go. She threw the quilt off her head and onto the floor and ran out of her room with the quilt left in a messy heap. She ran past her mother, father and brother out of the house and Luna watched helplessly from the balcony as Usagi ran along the sidewalk- oblivious that something more destructive was coming towards her that day.

"I hate him. I really do. I'll never get over it!" Usagi muttered as she swiftly jogged along the path.

She ran into Minamiza Park, feeling something in her head telling her where to go. She ran to the flower gardens. All of them were dead- the tulips, the daffodils, the sunflowers and more- each killed by winter's frosty glare. Usagi looked sadly and could not wait until springtime.

She then turned down a path that she had never noticed before. She was led to a small plant house where a selection of flowers was kept every winter. This winter, the theme was roses. This house was right next to the rose gardens. Usagi wandered through the house, admiring each rose and their unique colours until she walked out the exit and saw her worst nightmare- standing right in front of her- strangely, admiring the roses.

Mamoru heard footsteps behind him and turned. He saw Usagi standing there and just looked at her.

"If I'm not welcome here, then I'll leave…" Usagi mumbled sadly before turning to walk off.

"No don't!" Mamoru said, "Come and see the roses."

Usagi looked surprised but complied. The two made an effort at companionable conversation until Mamoru stuck his foot in it again.

"So, Odango, do you have another test tomorrow? I'm sure you'll fail…err…I mean…"

"No. I know exactly what you meant. You think I'm a failure!"

"No! I wasn't going to say that! I meant…"

"Just leave me alone, Mamoru!" Usagi said.

Mamoru reached out to grab her arm and Usagi instinctively pulled away. She turned and broke into a run, unaware that Mamoru was behind her.

Usagi ran through the huge park. She ran through a flock of birds on the ground, through a loving couple's picnic, through a pile of snow and eventually came hurtling towards the stone fence that bordered the edges of the park.

Mamoru followed Usagi- through the birds, the picnic, the snow and started towards the fence. He watched as Usagi jumped it effortlessly and he raced up and grabbed her arm before she could get away. Usagi struggled and finally wrenched her arm out of his grasp.

"That's all you think of me? A failure and ugly to boot?" she yelled

"NO! I was going to say that…"

"What? That I'm stupid and have oatmeal for brains?"

Mamoru looked at where Usagi was heading- she was walking backwards and heading towards Main Street.

"Usagi…"

"I know I'm stupid, it's fairly obvious!"

"Usagi…"

Usagi continued walking backwards, yelling at Mamoru all the while- not realising that the traffic lights several metres up the road had turned green.

"But I know I can do it and I have done it several time…WHOA!" she yelled as she tripped in the gutter and went sprawling on the road.

Mamoru then looked up the road. Usagi was cradling her hurt ankle and a car was hurtling towards her at an alarming rate. Alarm bells rang in Mamoru's brain and he jumped the fence. He ran across the sidewalk and was nearly there when Usagi looked up into the face of the car coming towards her.

"USAGI!" Mamoru screamed as the headlights of the car lit up her whole body...

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Please review! What happens to Usagi? You will find out sometime... 


	14. Chapter 12

Hey all! Long time no update! (sorry...please don't get mad! been really busy! last year of school nearly finished- only 8 weeks to go until the end of classes and exams!)

Anyways, i hope that this chap is okay! As long as you are happy, then I will be happy.

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Sailor Moon... sorry...

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The car started screaming on its brakes. But it was too late. Usagi's body went flying through the air and into a nearby lamp post. Mamoru was nearly sick at the sight of his beloved Odango flying through the air like a rag doll being tossed around. It was almost slow motion as her body bent around the pole and was flung off onto the nearby sidewalk.

Cars stopped all over the road and drivers and passengers all left their cars and began to run over to Usagi. Mamoru, however, pushed through the crowd to get to Usagi first- before anyone else.

"Usagi? Usagi, please talk to me! USAGI!"

He shook her shoulders and tears streamed down his face. From then on, everything around him became a blur. The sounds of an ambulance roaring up beside him, the sounds of doctors yelling commands to their colleagues and the feeling of Usagi being pulled away and put into an ambulance as somebody handed him a drink- that somebody being Motoki. Mamoru responded to that and began to cry- crying like he had not done in years.

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2 HOURS LATER

"Dr Hinata, please report to Emergency. Paging Dr. Hinata, please report to Emergency."

The sights, smells and sounds of Tokyo Mercy Hospital made Mamoru's head spin. Even though he had been there only mere days earlier, when his boss had had a heart attack, he still felt sick. He thought over the events that had preceded his and Usagi's trip to the hospital, and immediately felt very ill.

'_It's my fault…'_ he thought as he sat in a chair with a coffee in one hand and a donut in the other.

Anger and sadness surged through his entire being. He needed to see her. He stood up and walked over to the front desk and asked whether he could see Usagi yet.

"I'm sorry, Chiba-san. Tsukino-san is currently being looked at by a surgeon to tell if she is ready for surgery. If you would please wait until we call you or at least go home until she is ready to see you, it would be give her time to recover from her accident."

To Mamoru's spinning mind, none of this made any sense. Why was she telling him to wait or go home? Why wouldn't she let him see Usagi? He NEEDED to see Usagi!

"Ma'am, I know that she is being seen by a doctor, but I NEED TO SEE USAGI!" he yelled

The nurse looked at him sorrowfully.

"Chiba-san, if you could please wait, I will give you some news la…"

"Chiba Mamoru?" came a kindly voice

Mamoru looked up with a start and saw Ryo Urawa- one of his best friends from college- looking sorrowfully at him.

"She's….she's not…"

"No, she's not dead, Mamoru."

Mamoru wanted to leap up and down with joy but was stopped by the grave look on Urawa's face.

"But, she is in a deep coma and will probably be under for quite sometime. She has been approved for surgery later tonight and will go under at about ten o' clock tonight."

Mamoru's heart sank. But the doctor gave him one moment of joy- he allowed Mamoru to see Usagi.

Mamoru went through the Triage doors and was lead into a little cubicle surrounded by bright green curtains. He looked at the bed in which held the petite figure of Usagi. His heart wrenched for a moment, knowing that they both had a long way to go until they came out of the whole incident. He knew she would win this fight. She was strong, but at the moment he wasn't. He had a job to do. He had to call her family and friends to let them know what had happened.

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At Makoto's apartment, Makoto was cooking up a storm! She was going to have guests over that night and party into the wee hours of the next morning, but was brought out of her reverie by the shrill noise of the phone ringing. Makoto skipped over to her bright green phone and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked brightly

"Makoto? It's me, Rei."

Makoto frowned. Rei didn't sound particularly well.

"Rei, girl, are you okay?"

Rei felt like crying.

"Makoto, Usagi was hit by a car today."

Makoto fell silent and everything around her seemed to stop.

"What? Usagi was _what_?"

"Hit by a car, Makoto, she was hit by a car."

Makoto sat down quickly in a chair. She fanned her face as tears sprang to her eyes. Smoke was pouring from her oven as her oven roast burnt to charcoal and the smoke alarm rang throughout the apartment, but Makoto took no notice of it as she talked to Rei.

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About 2 hours later, after crying and talking with Rei, Makoto was clearing her kitchen. She had rung her guests to let them know that the dinner would be cancelled until further notice and had stored the un-damaged food in the refrigerator. She threw the now inedible roast in the trash can and walked inside sombrely. She lay on her bed and cried herself to sleep until she got a call at 4am the next day to say that Usagi was out of surgery and was in recovery.

Makoto ran to the hospital and was greeted by Usagi's family, Motoki, Mamoru and the other girls and Usagi's surgeon, Dr. Misako.

"Usagi is doing very well now, it was a tough surgery as we had to repair her arm, her leg and a skull fracture and some internal bleeding, but she made it through and will most likely recover as normal, although she will be in a coma for awhile longer."

Everyone's face sank, but Ikuko took charge. She asked for some paper and a pen and proceeded to draw up a roster of when each person could visit Usagi so that her room in intensive care would not be cluttered by loving friends and family. She organised for flowers to be delivered every day so that Usagi would have fresh flowers every single day and she organised for someone to give her at least one chocolate milkshake a day through the tube she was being fed with. Everyone finally felt at peace and went on their way home- with Ikuko beginning 'Usagi watch' that night.

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Please review! And thankyou to all of you who have sent in such lovely reviews- I feel really happy!


	15. Chapter 13

Hey all!

Sorry about the lengthy time between updates. My yr 12 exam period was really hectic and then I came down with very severe writer's block. I'm still drawing a blank of what to do with 'Smile' so, if you have any ideas, please post them in your reviews!!

Thankyou so much to my wonderfully talented beta-readers Kiweee and Hidden Firecracker for supporting me through this and for being my best friends:hugs: And thankyou to all my reviewers for being so patient with the lengthy time between updates!! I love you all:hugs:

Now for the legal necessities:

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own Sailor Moon... Naoko Takeuchi holds that honour!

And now, here we go! The newest installment! Enjoy!

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3 months passed. Usagi's condition stayed the same and everyone poured in and out of the hospital day after day. Ikuko continued to care for her comatose daughter and still managed to make time for her family. Mamoru seemed to get older every passing day. More frown lines than smile lines overcame his face and he started to let his emotions run free. He grew more and more depressed whenever he saw Usagi's pale face and cast-covered body lying still on the small hospital bed. Doctors streamed in and out, checking her pulse and other vital signs.

One morning, Mamoru sat in the waiting room. Nothing was different about it- unless you counted the day's newest flower arrangement from the ikebana club. His black hair was no longer glossy or shiny from perfection; it was greasy and un-brushed. His shirt needed a good ironing and his pants were covered in stains from yesterday's microwaveable teriyaki chicken dinner. He wore mismatched socks and his shoes were covered in dirty rainwater due to puddles on the pathways from his apartment building to the hospital.

Rei watched him from afar. Her usual smirk was gone and her demeanour was one of silence, just like everyone else- and Rei hardly ever conformed to anything.

She walked quietly over to Mamoru and sat beside him, wondering if his bleak, sleepless eyes would notice her or the drink she held in her right hand.

Mamoru did not disappoint. He looked up and nodded- but then his head dropped back down again.

"Mamoru?" Rei asked quietly, only to be answered with a grunt of acknowledgement, "Mamoru, you must come out of this. No more lying around like a lazy bum. Get up, go outside, and don't come back until you have cleaned up. When Usagi awakens, she won't want to see a dirty Mamoru, she'll want to see a nice, clean one!" she rebuke.

Mamoru shook his head.

"She won't want to see any type of Mamoru at all, after what I did." He muttered.

Rei rolled her eyes.

"You've been berating yourself for months over this. It was not your fault! You didn't drive the car! You tried to help Usagi! You couldn't have done anything else! Don't keep bashing yourself over this!" she practically yelled.

"But I didn't get to her until after she'd been hit!" Mamoru roared.

Everyone turned around to stare at them. Rei sat on the couch, limbs akimbo and eyes wider than saucers. Mamoru turned slightly and looked in a nearby mirror. His stance made him look like a monster- his fists clenched, his teeth bared, his hair mussed, his muscles bulging and his eyes wider than Rei's. It looked like he was about to become the Incredible Hulk.

"What?" Rei whispered, "You what?"

Mamoru stood down slowly and sat on the couch.

"I didn't get to her until after the car smashed into her!" He whispered furiously.

Rei's jaw dropped open. Motoki had told them that Mamoru had been like a hero to Usagi- and Mamoru himself had not denied it. She turned her head to one side and looked out the window behind them. Rain streamed down outside, cars honked theirs horns and children laughed and played in the puddles.

"Why didn't you tell me? Or anyone else for that matter?" Rei asked

Mamoru shook his head and stared into space.

"I…I didn't want anyone to hate me. Usagi already hates me and she is the closest thing to a friend that I had besides Motoki."

Rei nodded dumbly, her thoughts spinning like a never-ending Ferris Wheel. Mamoru's blank expression did not change until a doctor came in.

"Chiba-san? A word with you please." He asked with a grave expression dominating his face.

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Meanwhile, in Usagi's room, the monitor's beeped and curtains rustled from the wind outside. Other than that, everything else was deathly quiet. Usagi's serene expression betrayed the painful thoughts rushing through her head at that particular moment…

"_Why can't I be good enough?"_

"_What did I ever do to him?"_

"_How fast was that car going?"_

"_Will I ever see my family again?"_

"_What is going on outside?"_

Suddenly, the door to Usagi's room opened. Ikuko walked inside quietly- the familiar _'slap, slap'_ of her special hospital slippers sounding on the sterilised floor. It was a homey sound to Usagi's ears and she wanted to suddenly wake up and pretend that it had been a bad dream- but she just could not find the door which opened to the outside world.

"Oh, Usagi…baby…" Ikuko whispered with tears dripping down her sunken cheeks.

Usagi smiled and, in her mind, put her hand out to brush away her mother's tears… that is… until she heard Ikuko scream.

"_Maybe she saw something…a rodent, perhaps?"_ Usagi pondered

"KENJI!!" Ikuko screamed, "USAGI MOVED!!"

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_ikebana_- flower arranging

So... Usagi moved... ooooooh... : )

Please let me know if you enjoyed it! (e.g. REVIEW!!) And if any ideas for my other story 'Smile' enter your head, then please let me know those as well!


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